U.S. Department of Agriculture

In the middle of February, Hannah and Ryan were abruptly fired from their federal jobs with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service.

The federal wildland firefighting force is currently split between five land management agencies – the Forest Service (under the U.S. Department of Agriculture), the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (under the Department of the Interior).

The price of groceries was a big talking point in this year’s election, and high costs of living continue to make headlines across the country. Those costs have kept the Food Bank of Wyoming busy this year.

The Wyoming Grants Management Office compiled a list of grant and low-interest loan programs for private landowners, small businesses, nonprofits and local governments to seek relief.

The Pack Trail Fire east of Jackson and the Elk Fire west of Sheridan continue to burn in part due to “extreme” drought conditions

So far this year, more than 600 fires have burned some 629,000 acres in the state. The governor says private lands used for agricultural production have been disproportionately affected.

More local meat, produce and grains will be hitting food bank shelves this summer thanks to a more than $500,000 Local Food Purchasing Agreement Grant for the Food Bank of Wyoming from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The goal of the funding is to buy more food from small-scale Wyoming producers and distribute it to folks in need across the state.

In celebration of Earth Day, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded over $1 million to nine rural businesses in Wyoming to help them lower energy costs. The money comes from the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), which is funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. The REAP initiative helps agricultural producers and rural small businesses use more renewable energy sources and increase their overall energy efficiency.

Seventy-six wildlife conservation groups have petitioned the Department of the Interior to ban the use of M-44s on Bureau of Land Management lands. The devices, commonly known as “cyanide bombs,” remain a controversial tool for predator mitigation.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a new $1 billion grant program this week to help communities facing wildfire risks. Grants for wildfire protection planning or outreach can be up to $250,000. Affiliated infrastructure and resilience projects can get grants of up to $10 million.